Oxhide copper ingot
Lingote de cobre en forma de piel de buey
- Date
- c. 1400 BCE · confidence medium
- Place
- Enkomi, Famagusta, Cyprus
- Credited to
- Metallurgists of Cyprus and the eastern Mediterranean
- Field
- Matter & energy
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A copper ingot of about 25 kg with four handles that make it easy to carry, used as commodity money and as cargo in Late Bronze Age maritime trade. The Uluburun and Cape Gelidonya wrecks carried them by the ton.
Lead-isotope analyses indicate much of the copper came from Cyprus, but the provenance of some ingots (Sardinia, the Aegean) and the origin of the shape are debated. Enkomi is one of the towns with the most finds.
What it led to
- standardised metal trade among Cyprus, Egypt, Anatolia and the Aegean
- enrichment of Cypriot cities such as Enkomi and Alashiya
- weight and value systems based on metal